Tag Archives: Data Security

Socially Aware will be sponsoring a free webinar on cybersecurity-related legal issues on December 2, 2014. As part of the webinar, privacy and data security lawyers from Morrison & Foerster LLP – including a number of Socially Aware contributors – will discuss the cybersecurity trends and challenges, addressing current and pending laws and regulations in various… Continue Reading

For many companies, the main question about cloud computing is no longer whether to move their data to the “cloud,” but how they can accomplish this transition. Cloud (or Internet-based on-demand) computing involves a shift away from reliance on a company’s own local computing resources, in favor of greater reliance on shared servers and data… Continue Reading

From our sister blog, MoFo Tech: Within a decade, analysts say, the “Internet of Things” will have transformed our lives. Billions of Internet-connected devices will monitor our homes, businesses, cars, and even our bodies, using the data to manage everything from appliances to heart monitors. Companies like Google— which recently paid $3.2 billion for smart-thermostat company… Continue Reading

Not to be outdone by Florida, California has yet again amended its data security breach law and again in groundbreaking (yet confusing) fashion. On September 30, 2014, California Governor Brown signed into law a bill (“AB 1710”) that appears to impose the country’s first requirement to provide free identity theft protection services to consumers in… Continue Reading

Big Brother isn’t just watching. A single mother in upstate New York was surprised to find that she had a Facebook page in her name, complete with photos of her, her son, and her niece. She hadn’t actually set up the page. It turned out that she was being investigated as a bit player in… Continue Reading

Better shop around. In connection with a new staff report, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) examined 121 popular apps used to comparison shop, find online deals and pay with mobile devices; the FTC concluded that many of these apps failed, prior to download, to disclose important information to users, such as how the apps deal… Continue Reading

In November 2012, we wrote an Alert about the European Commission’s Communication on Cloud Computing intended, it said, to “… unleash the potential of cloud computing in Europe”. Sceptics were doubtful that the cloud industry needed much help from European regulators to thrive. Twenty months later, the Commission has begun to deliver on its key… Continue Reading

The latest issue of our Socially Aware newsletter is now available here. Welcome to a special privacy issue of Socially Aware, focusing on recent privacy law developments relating to social media and the Internet. In this issue, we analyze a controversial European ruling that strengthens the right to be forgotten; we examine a recent California… Continue Reading

Snapchat’s recent settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) generally provides a comprehensive but not groundbreaking roadmap to the FTC’s privacy and data security expectations in the mobile environment under Section 5 of the FTC Act, with two very notable exceptions: It now appears that companies are required to follow researchers’ blogs and other writings… Continue Reading

Cisco estimates that 25 billion devices will be connected in the Internet of Things (IoT) by 2015, and 50 billion by 2020. Analyst firm IDC makes an even bolder prediction: 212 billion connected devices by 2020. This massive increase in connectedness will drive a wave of innovation and could generate up to $19 trillion in… Continue Reading

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the network of everyday physical objects that surround us and are increasingly being embedded with technology to enable those objects to collect and transmit data about their use and surroundings. TVs connected to the Internet and refrigerators connected to online delivery services are just the start of it. In… Continue Reading

California’s AB 370, if signed by Gov. Jerry Brown, would be the first piece of legislation in the world directly addressing “do not track” (DNT) to become law. It has passed both houses of the California Legislature and would likely take effect in January. The bill, which would amend California’s existing Online Privacy Protection Act… Continue Reading

Article courtesy of Morrison & Foerster’s Mobile Payments Practice Lawmakers in Washington, D.C., continue to show interest in understanding and developing regulatory proposals relating to mobile apps. The interest appears to be driven, at least in part, by policymakers’ concerns about consumer privacy when using mobile phones and other smart hand-held devices. The issue of… Continue Reading

Europe is currently undergoing a significant reform of its privacy regime. Under the current European Union (EU) Privacy Directive, individuals already have broad rights curtailing companies’ ability to process their personal data. The proposed EU Privacy Regulation seeks to broaden these rights even further. In particular, the proposed “right to be forgotten” may ultimately impose… Continue Reading

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has cracked down on a company that was engaged in “history sniffing,” a means of online tracking that digs up information embedded in web browsers to reveal the websites that users have visited. In a proposed settlement with Epic Marketplace, Inc. and Epic Media Group (together, “EMG”) announced on December… Continue Reading

On March 26, 2012, the Federal Trade Commission (the “Commission” or “FTC”) released its much-anticipated final privacy report, Protecting Consumer Privacy in an Era of Rapid Change. The report builds upon the Commission’s December 2010 preliminary report, and provides recommendations for businesses and policymakers with respect to online and offline privacy practices. The report will… Continue Reading

Earlier this year, U.S. Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) introduced S. 799, the “Commercial Privacy Bill of Rights Act of 2011,” which would establish, for the first time in the United States, a comprehensive framework for the collection, use, storage, and transfer of covered information. If passed as currently drafted, the bill would… Continue Reading

Google’s recent announcement that it is preparing to offer behaviorally targeted ads for mobile devices has led to concerns regarding the tracking required to implement such functionality. Online behavioral advertising has typically been implemented using cookies placed through a user’s web browser when the user visits a website. Mobile devices, however, often access the Internet… Continue Reading

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Social media sites are transforming not only the daily lives of consumers, but also how companies interact with consumers. Here at Morrison & Foerster, across all of our practice groups, we are seeing complex, cutting-edge legal issues arising out of social media. As with the Internet boom during the mid-to-late 1990s, social media is generating new legal questions at a far faster pace than the law’s ability to provide answers to such questions. In an effort to stay on top of these emerging issues, and to keep our clients and friends informed of new developments, Morrison & Foerster publishes this blog devoted to the law and business of social media.

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